Anustup Majumder included in Bengal squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy

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Anustup Majumdar back in Bengal squad for Vijay Hazare. Image Source: facebook

Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Thursday announced 16 men probable squad for upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bengal is placed in Group C and will face Andhra, Goa, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat respectively. Manoj Tiwary’s men will start their campaign against Andhra at Chennai on February 25.

Bengal has re-inducted 32-year-old Anustup Majumdar in the state squad, Majumdar last played for Bengal in 2012-13 season before moving to Railways. After playing the Ranji trophy for Railways in last two seasons, he came back to Bengal with NOC. He also made it to the Ranji probable this season but failed to secure his spot in the final 15 squad. But he had a terrific season with Mohun Bagan this year and that’s why the selectors have included him in the squad. Bengal wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha will not be a part of this Team, as he will be busy in the Australia series. The selectors have given Anustup a chance because he is an experienced campaigner. The selection also marked return for Debabrata Das (hamstring) and Sudip Chatterjee (finger) after recovering from respective injuries in the 16-member squad, to be led by Manoj Tiwary.

Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule is happy with Anustup’s return, he said, “We won’t get the service of our regular keeper Wriddhiman in this tournament, that’s why we have chosen him to strengthen our middle order. Anustup is an experienced cricketer and he knows his job very well.”

Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary lauded Anustup too. ” Anustup is an experienced customer and he has the ability to perform well in pressure situations. The President and selectors have put their faith on Anustup and it’s a great opportunity for him to show what he can do for his side.”

The team will leave for Chennai on February 22nd.

Meanwhile, after the IPL of this season, The Eden Gardens might be undergoing a renovation procedure. Over the press box of the stadium, the present roof might be replaced by “canopy cover” like the famous Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. To execute the plans, The CAB called a famous architect named Jiten Shah from Ahmedabad today.

Jiten is no new to Eden Gardens as he did the renovation of the stadium back in 2011 before the ICC World Cup. The galleries too got a refreshing look after his work from then. Today CAB President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Abhishek Dalmiya had a discussion with Jiten Shah to execute the new plans. Probably on Tuesday, Jiten will submit the sketch of the Canopy Covers. An assured source claimed that to execute this new plan, they  won’t need the necessary permission from The Fort William. The press box might be undergoing a few more renovation procedures as well after the IPL. Simultaneously, on the second floor of the stadium, the glass wall adjacent to the press box might be removed and a strong wifi zone will be built over there to allow the wind, as per sources.

Following are the fixtures of Bengal in their Vijay Hazare Trophy:

25th February: Andhra vs Bengal

28th February: Goa vs Bengal

1st March: Bengal vs Team Rajasthan

3rd March: Bengal vs Mumbai

4th March: Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh

6th March: Gujarat vs Bengal

Squad:

Manoj Tiwary (c), Shreevats Goswami, Sudip Chatterjee, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abhishek Raman, Debabrata Das, Anustup Majumdar, Pankaj Shaw, Writtick Chatterjee, Pragyan Ojha, Aamir Gani, Ashoke Dinda, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Ishan Porel, Mukesh Kumar. Stand-byes: Pramod Chandila, Veer Pratap Singh.